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狀元

简状元 · 繁狀元

Mandarin · pinyin zhuàng yuán

top scorer in the palace examination (highest rank of the Imperial examination system)
see 榜眼 bǎng yǎn and 探花 tàn huā
top scorer in college entrance examination 高考 gāo kǎo
(fig.) the most brilliantly talented person in the field
leading light

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Characters in this entry

狀: Look up this written character
元: yuán · first; dollar; origin; head
状: zhuàng · form; appearance; shape; official

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · zhuang4 yuan2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zong6 jyun4

Cantonese word readings for 狀元. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(historical) zhuangyuan, someone who was ranked first class in the palace examination, the highest level of the Chinese imperial examination; champion
(in modern uses) one who achieves the highest score in an examination; top scorer; valedictorian
(by extension) the very best in a field; top performer
(Hokkien, dice games) the winning dice roll in a Mooncake Festival Dice Game

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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